Searching beyond Google

Amanda Broadley, Tutor – PhotographyJoseph Priestley College

When photography tutor Amanda Broadley discovered the Art and Design Interviews
she decided to use them to create a learning package introducing her Level 2 students to a project researching famous photographers.

"I found the audio fantastic to work with," she said. "When students do their research
on the internet, more often than not it's American photographers that they find.
Archival Sound Recordings was good in that it showcased British photographers. The
realism of it inspired students and encouraged them to source other material beyond
Google searches.

Amanda created a PowerPoint presentation that can sit on a VLE (Virtual Learning
Environment) allowing students to work through it independently. The package showcases
three photographers and included examples of their work and excerpts from interviews.
She found the audio helped students engage with the subject material.

"These interviews are straight from the horse's mouth - photographers and artists
talking about their own work and influences. As a tutor I maybe too often stand
there and give my opinion about somebody's work. Listening to interviews
allows students to hear from the photographer themselves what's behind the images."

"This is a fantastic way to bring artists' work to life for students."

Urban sounds and the brain

If asked to think about urban soundscapes, the majority of people imagine noisy
traffic, sirens, loud parties and other intrusive, undesirable sounds of the city.
The Positive Soundscapes Project
has set out to challenge this negative perception of the sounds of the city. The
project brings together researchers from a wide range of disciplines - from social
science to psychoacoustics to sound art – with the aim of exploring how the auditory
environment affects people living within it.

One such expert is research fellow Dr Amy Irwin from the
MRC Institute of Hearing Research. She set out to assess the impact on the
human brain of sounds perceived as either pleasant or unpleasant.

Hunting for sounds of the urban environment, Dr Irwin found a range of recordings
from Soundscapes and
British wildlife recordings
on Archival Sound Recordings. "The website is
very user friendly, and being able to download the clips directly was a great time
saver." says Irwin. "The variety of sounds available was also useful. Combined with
the soundscapes I found from other private sources Archival Sound Recordings provided
for all of my needs."

Participants were asked to rate 150 recordings for 'pleasantness', whilst undergoing
an functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan. Results showed that ideas
of pleasantness varied on an individual level: some sounds such as vomiting were
universally rated as unpleasant, while others, like
urban fox calls, varied depending on the individual. However, sounds which
evoked a strong emotional response - either pleasant or unpleasant - all resulted
in activity in the amygdala region of the brain, which is known to be associated
with emotion.

Understanding how the human brain responds to different types of urban sound is
an essential part of the Positive Soundscapes Project, which aims to devise ways
to incorporate positive soundscapes into urban planning and design.

I Hear a New World

As part of his work with the University of York Sound Archive's digitisation project,
PhD student Ewan Gordon has been developing a thesis on sound recording history
and the development of stereo.

"The Oral history of recorded sound
collection on Archival Sound Recordings provides valuable
interviews with those directly involved in the development of stereo recording technique
and commercial decision making, says Ewan. "As periods of technical experimentation,
the processes are often poorly documented and these first hand accounts provide
an invaluable insight into the methods employed." says Ewan.

The recordings document a swathe of developments across the 20th Century, from early
experiments by Arthur C. Keller and Alan Blumlein in the 1920s and 30s, to the possibilities
for multi-track magnetic tape explored by The Beatles.

Ewan has been exploring a range of interviews to piece together the story of stereo.
"Since Alan Blumlein died during the war, interviews with his son
Simon
and personal friend
J.B. Kaye
have complemented written sources regarding the Blumlein's
audio patents, whereas interviews with
Arthur Haddy
provide valuable information about the recordings made with
Sir Thomas Beecham at Abbey Road Studios. Together these recordings detail a fast
moving period of development within the British recording industry and bring the
story to life."

He has also discovered valuable insights into the commercial exploitation of new
audio technologies, through interviews with
Sir Joseph Lockwood
(former Chairman of EMI),
Kenneth Townsend MBE
(former sound engineer at Abbey Road) and iconic
record producer
George Martin.

Ewan is currently in the second year of his PhD, and the
Oral history of recorded sound
has helped shape the direction of his thesis.
"The collection allowed me to make valuable connections between the often lesser
documented technical staff and place their roles in context. This has opened new
avenues for investigation and has guided and prioritized my research planning at
other British archives."

Dansette 'Viva' record player from 1965

Rediscovering lost sounds in Uganda

In 1967, the central government of Uganda abolished the historic Bantu kingdoms
that had for centuries formed the regional administrations of the country. Once
the kingdoms went, generations of musical and cultural lore associated with the
Royal Courts fell into disuse.

In 1993, the government restored the kingdoms, and the reinstated King of Bunyoro-Kitara
is now tackling the daunting task of recreating the institutions, articles and music
of the regional heritage.

After discovering old recordings of this music in the
Klaus Wachsmann Uganda recordings
collection on Archival Sound Recordings,
Sheffield student Samuel Kahunde decided to base his PhD thesis on the subject.
In a fieldwork trip last June, Samuel visited the royal court to discuss the recovery
of this music with the King of Bunyoro-Kitara.

He found that many kinds of music are now extinct - the instruments may be preserved,
but nobody knows how to play them any more. Other musical forms are still alive,
but have suffered greatly from the 26 year gap, with only a few elderly practitioners
left, trying to teach young musicians who have never experienced how the music should
sound.

The Wachsmann recordings are providing a pathway to rediscover the music, according
to Samuel. "I am looking at issues of preservation and authenticity in the revival
of the royal music of Bunyoro. I get information through listening to the music
recorded from different regions of Uganda, allowing me to compare the music across
diverse cultures." says Samuel. "They are also useful in making comparisons between
traditional music in the 1940s and later periods. This has provided me with new
leads for research."

Samuel also worked with a group of young Amakondere trumpet players, playing them
Wachsmann recordings and allowing them to hear for the first time how the music
used to be played. The musicians have asked for copies of the recordings in order
to study the music in more depth.

On his next trip to Uganda Samuel will continue to work closely with the Royal Court.
It's a huge job, and one that looks set to continue well beyond the confines of
a PhD.